No, not anymore that I know of. When i got m new phone a year ago, they gave it to me and I started using it right out of the store. I don’t remember if it was fully charged or partially, but It hasn’t failed me since. The new batteries don’t have to be charged immediately like the old ones did.

When I bought my phone, the man who helped me at the dealership told me, right out of the box, to charge up my phone, then let the charge run completely out on the first usage. He said that if I didn’t, my battery wouldn’t last as long or hold the charge as well.

What @DrasticDreamer says above might be right… I don’t know if different batteries or newer technology changes that, but so far my phone has worked very well for me. That was a little over a year ago.

Batteries have a “memory.” It is wise to fully charge them (according to the manufacturer’s directions) and let them almost drain the first time around.

There are different kinds of batteries, and different items come with batteries in various stages of being charged. Some need a full 8–16 hour initial charge; some phones are already pre-charged so that you may use them immediately. It varies.

when I got a droid i charged it for a little bit and then took it off because i was too anxious to play with it and the cord on the charger isn’t long enough to do so while it was plugged in. it hasn’t been a problem for me. my battery life is GREAT, not to brag ;) lol

Most rechargeable batteries suffer from something called “Memory effect” where the battery “remembers” how full it was at last charge and only fills to that amount. The effect is not that great really in any battery, but it is there. Also, it can shorten the life of your battery to not fully charge your battery when you do charge it. This was a much more serious problem with older cell phones and rechargeable electronics. If you’ve ever had a phone that you fully charge every night and after a few years notice it loses all of its charge in a matter of minutes, this is what has happened to it.

The only batteries that significantly avoid this are lithium-ion batteries.

So in short your girlfriend is correct. Failing to fully charge your and drain your battery whenever you use it (especially the first time you use it) will shorten your full charge amount and battery life. But thanks to modern technology the difference is becoming negligible.